Two-wheeled carriage



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' J. JENKINS.

Two Wheeled Carriage.

No. 234,285: Patented Nov. 9,1880.

Inventor:

NJPEIERS, PHOTO-I WNOGRAPHER, wAsmNG'mN, D c

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. JENKINS. Two Wheeled Carriage.

No. 234,285. Patented Nov. 9,1880.

ERS. PMOTO-LITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D C- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE JENKINS, OF SLIGO, MARYLAND.

TWO-WHEELED CARRl-AGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 234,285, dated November 9, 1880.

Application filed June 23, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, Jnssn JENKINS, of Sligo, Montgomery county, Maryland, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Two-Wheeled Carriages or Sulkies, and that the following is a full and complete description of the same.

The object of this improvement is to neutralize the unpleasant cart motion which heretofore has been inseparable from every twowheeled vehicle of the class to which this invention belongs.

In all carriages of this class heretofore made the body or seat-frame has been at its front end supported upon the shafts, necessarily at some distance in front of the axle. The axle being at a fixed distance from the ground becomes a center of motion in a vertical plane for the shafts with each step taken by the horse, and the front end of the seat-frame necessarily partakes of said movement of the shafts. This produces the cart motion mentioned above, which is well known and always unpleasant. To obviate this unpleasant and objectionable effect I make the pivotal center of the shafts at or close to the point of attachment of the body or seat-frame to the shafts, and provide a yielding attachment between the rear ends of the shafts and the axle or seat-frame, relying partly upon the inertia of the seat or body and its load to maintain a proper stability of said pivotal point.

It will appear manifest, if the axes of all movements of the shafts in a vertical plane are coincident with the point of attachment to the body or seat-frame, that such movements of the shafts will not be communicated to said body or seat-frame.

Having now set forth the object of my invention and its principle of operation, I will more particularly describe the details of structure which I prefer, having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sulky constructed according to my plan. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, and Fig. 3 is an elevation, of the same.

A A are the bearing-wheels, and B is the axle. G O- are the ordinary shafts whereby the vehicle is attached to the horse. D is the single-tree for attachment of the traces. These parts do not differ essentially from those in (No model.)

ordinary use, except in the particulars to be named hereinafter.

The body Gr may be mounted upon a spring, H, or upon rigid legs, according to the desire of the user or the purpose of the vehicle. At its front end the body G is supported upon the arms or draft-straps E, which, at their rear ends, are rigidly secured to the axle, and not upon the shafts C. To accommodate a narrow body, a cross-bar, I, may be placed from one of said straps to the other and secured thereto at its ends. The clips or supports J for the front end of the body are attached at suitable points to said cross-bar. By this or equivalent means, the body is mounted upon the axle with an attachment independent of the shafts and complete without them.

The rear ends of the shafts O C are not attached directly to the axle B, nor rigidly at all, but are hinged to the front end of the seatframe or to the draft-straps E by the joints 6. At their rear ends the shafts O are supported by an elastic yielding connection, represented by the spring E, which may be attached to the axle or to the body G. I prefer, however, to attach it to the axle.

It appears manifest that the front ends of the body G and straps Eare supported, as to the ground, by the shafts 0, but without necessarily partaking of any of their vertical movements.

The operation of this device is as follows: When the rider places himself upon the seat his weight acts upon the spring F or its equivalent through the straps E and rear ends of the shafts until the whole comes to a state of equilibrium. The spring F is thereby put under slight tension, and as the horse advances the spring F yields readily to each movement of the shafts G as the horse steps, and said shafts move upon the joints 0 without affecting the position of the body. When the horse advances at a quick pace the movements of the shafts are correspondingly quick, and the inertia is proportionately more efficient in maintaining the stability of the joint e.

If desired, a single tongue or draft-pole may be substituted for the shafts, so that two horses instead of one may be employed. The seatframe may be connected to the cross-bar I or to the strap E by a joint, and a joint at that point will be useful when the spring H is employed, as it will relieve the front connections from strain when the spring yields. The clips J may, however, be made elastic to avoid the use of ajoint at that point.

Havingdescribed my invention, what I claim as new is 1. A two-wheeled vehicle or sulky provided with a seat-frame or body mounted upon the axle and supported at its front end upon arms projecting forward from the axle, and therefore independent. of the draft-pole or shafts, combined with a draft-pole or shafts hinged at one point to the running'gear and at another point attached to the same by an elastic attachment, whereby the movements of said draft-pole or shafts in a vertical plane may be taken up by said elastic support without being imparted to the seat-frame or body.

2. A two-wheeled vehicle or sulky provided with a seat-frame or body mounted above the axle and supported by braces returning from the frontof said seat to the axle, whereto they are rigidly attached, combined with a draft pole or shafts hinged to the front end of said seat-frame, and at the rear ends of said draft pole or shafts an elastic support. whereby the vertical movements of said shafts may be taken up, substantially as set forth.

3. A two-wheeled vehicle or sulky provided with a seat-frame or body, G, mounted upon the axle B, and supported at its front end upon arms or draft-straps E, which, at their rear ends, are rigidly attached to said axle, combined with the shafts O (J, hinged at e to the front ends of said draft-straps, and the spring F, whereby the rear ends of said shafts are supported.

4. A two-wheeled vehicle provided with a body or seat-frame, G, supported at or near its rear end upon the axle by a spring, H, and connected at or near its front end to the arms or straps projecting from said axle by a hinge or elastic joint, combined with shafts or draftpole hinged to the front end or ends of said arms or straps, and supported at the rear end by an elastic support, substantially for the purpose set forth.

5. A two-wheeled vehicle or sulky provided with a seat-frame or body, G, mounted upon a spring, H, over the axle, and supported at its front end upon a cross-bar, I, and the draftstraps E, combined with the shafts G C, hinged to the front ends of said straps, but extending backward therefrom to a point over the axle, and supported there by an elastic support, F, substantially as set forth.

JESSE JENKINS.

Witnesses:

R. I). 0. SMITH, N. B. SMiTH. 

